Dimitry Kumsishvili: Georgian Government intends to transform the country into a regional hub of Information Technologies

The FINANCIAL -- At EuroDIG 2018 official opening ceremony, the First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Dimitry Kumsishvili introduced the vision and initiative of the Georgian Government regarding the ICT sector.

“In order to develop the knowledge-based and an innovation-driven economy, Georgian Government intends to transform the country into a regional hub of Information Technologies with highly skilled workforce,” – Dimitry Kumsishvili stated. In this context, the First Vice Prime Minister stressed on the importance of the improvement of the legal framework covering privacy, censorship and self-censorship, protection from copyright infringement, and protection of children from harmful effects, and are directly connected to the freedom of expression on the internet as well as the significance of educational and infrastructural projects, according to Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.

First Vice Prime Minister noted that “the forum discusses all the challenges of the internet including human rights, digital literacy, protection of the children’s rights, cybersecurity, etc.” Dimitry Kumsishvili talked about the projects targeted at the ICT development and accessibility of the internet. “Our country has significantly advanced in this direction and we still continue to work and some of the projects are in their active phase. We have selected several areas including Racha-Lechkhumi and Svaneti regions and we have announced the tender for this regions and relevant works will be launch upon completion of all the tender procedures,” – the Minister noted.

Talking about the harmonization process with the European Single Digital Market and establishment of the e-governance platforms for better communication between the state and private sector, he stated the following: “I am proud to say that we have advanced to a point where Georgia comes in full harmonization with European Digital Single Market standards. E-Governance platforms that we have created support proper and smooth functionality within the frames of interoperability, thus enabling various state and private organizations to exchange data with each other in a secure and expedited way and contribute to increasing the number of e-services available for both public and private entities. Our goal is simple here – we strive to serve our citizens better and make everyone in this country enjoy the advantage of doing things through the online formats, rather than paper-based”.

In order to facilitate the ITC development in the country, Government of Georgia initiated training programs in Information Technologies and digital literacy for the IT specialists. “Since 2015, the Georgian National Dialogue on Internet Governance – GeoIGF has been held successfully, which brings together all stakeholders of the ICT field. This is another proof that the Government of Georgia is open for diverse discussions with all interested parties. The GeoIGF gained international recognition, and I think that is one of the base reasons we have the opportunity to be together at EuroDIG in Georgia,” – Kumsishvili noted.